The present invention relates to a packaging combination for accommodating and dispensing a viscous or granular filling material according to claims 1, 13 and 28. The present invention further relates to a dispensing device according to claim 26 or 42 for being attached to a tubular casing as well as to a tubular casing to which a dispensing device according to claim 26 or 42 may be attached.
In particular, the present invention relates to a packaging combination for accommodating and dispensing a viscous or granular filling material, the packaging combination comprises a tubular casing having a first and a second end, wherein the tubular casing is partially filled with filling material and closed at its first as well as its second end by a closure means, like a closure clip, and wherein the packaging combination further comprises a dispensing device.
In practice, packaging combinations comprising a tubular casing filled with filling material and closed at its ends by closure means, and a dispensing device are known. The tubular casings of said packaging combinations are filled with various pasty filling materials, e.g. food stuff, like sausage meat, or adhesives, like silicone, etc.
From EP patent application 1 988 032, a tubular or sausage-shaped packaging is known, being filled with sausage meat. The sausage-shaped product is produced by closing a tubular casing at one end, filling the sausage meat into said tubular casing and closing the filled tubular casing at its respective other end. In order to allow an easier opening of the sausage-shaped product, perforation lines including a number of weak locations are provided on the casing, along which the casing may be opened by pulling off the casing material and dispensing the sausage meat.
In US patent application 2008/0274313, a sausage-shaped product similar to that of EP 1 988 032 is disclosed. In order to allow an easier opening of the casing material, a handle in form of a tear stripe is attached to the casing, particular between the two overlapping longitudinal edges of the casing material. Two material weakenings are provided at both sides of the tear stripe facilitating the opening of the casing.
Moreover, German laid open document 38 31 225 discloses a device for dispensing the filling material stored in a tubular or bag-shaped packing. The device includes a rigid tube having a dispensing nozzle at its one end. A bag-shaped casing has then to be containing a pasty filling material, like an adhesive, has to be opened at one end and has then to be positioned in said rigid tube with its opened end facing the dispensing nozzle. A piston matching the inner diameter of the tube is pushed into the tube, thereby squeezing the bag-shaped packaging and dispensing the filling material through the dispensing nozzle.
With this known packaging combination, it is of disadvantage that the rigid tube has outer circumferential dimensions being such that the complete bag-shaped casing can be accommodated in said rigid tube. If this known packaging combination is provided as a disposable device, this solution is expensive due to the big rigid tube being made from relatively expensive plastics. If this known packaging combination used such that only bag-shaped casing is thrown away and the rigid tube is used several times, the bag-shaped casing must be opened outside the tube so that, when the opened bag-shaped casing is introduced in the rigid tube, filling material can accidently discharged and can pollute the environment.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging combination, with which the above mentioned drawbacks have been overcome, and which allows an easy and save opening of the tubular casing.